Harry Potter and the Deathly Obsession: THIS is How You Defeat Alcoholism as Told by Daniel Radcliffe
Everybody knows Harry Potter – but not many seem to know about the dark side of playing the role of the world’s most famous wizard.
It’s no secret that Daniel Radcliffe has earned an amazing reputation in the film industry for playing a myriad of roles. From being Dr. Frankenstein’s protege in Victor Frankenstein (2015), to being the tech-savvy antagonist in Now You See Me 2 (2016), the horned suspect in Horns (2014), the lovesick medical school dropout in What If? (2013), the political prisoner in Escape From Pretoria (2020), to the top class FBI agent in Imperium (2016), and, of course, the most iconic boy wizard in all of the seven installments of Harry Potter franchise (2001-2011), the actor sure proved his range in the craft which eventually made him a household name.
Showing his brilliance once more, Radcliffe proved that he wasn’t going to shy away nor back down from all the curve balls that life has given to him. Successfully dealing with his own personal issues and struggle. This part of him was shown as he shared his problems with alcohol abuse.
Fame and Fortune: The Boy Wizard’s Real Life Dementors
Just like his acting career, Radcliffe’s problem with alcohol started at a very young age.
While the rest of us were busy moving out at 18, the child star turned seasoned actor was slowly beginning to become reliant on alcohol. In a recent interview with Sam Jones, the actor said that the main cause of his drinking problems is the fame he got from acting in the Harry Potter franchise, saying that he felt “watched” in every bar and pub he went to at the height of his career.
“In my case, the quickest way of forgetting about the fact that you’re being watched is by getting drunk,” the Harry Potter star added, “and then as you get very drunk, you become aware of all the people that are watching more now ‘cause I’m getting so drunk. So, I should probably drink more to ignore that more.”
Radcliffe also said that he had a hard time dealing with the heavy expectations from the people around him, saying he should be thankful and delighted all the time for “having a great job” and a “wealthy status”, thus stripping him off of “the right to ever feel sad.”
“Man, if I feel something like a human emotion, does that mean I’m doing it wrong? Does that mean that I’m not good at being famous or not good at living my life?,” Radcliffe protested.
Though the actor claimed that he is not really made for the party lifestyle, the dependency on the substance still got the most out of him, eventually haunting him for the rest of the run of his role in Harry Potter. “I could point to many scenes where I’m just gone. Dead behind the eyes,” Radcliffe shared as he openly admitted in an interview that he would often show up to the set hungover or even drunk from the night before.
Moreover, the actor admitted that, just like the usual response by individuals with a drinking problem, he also intentionally kept the issue hidden from both the media and his friends – not even his co-actor Rupert Grint knew of his issues. When asked about his thoughts on Radcliffe’s self-confessed alcoholism, Grint simply said he “wasn’t really aware of it” and that “everything is just exaggerated.”
First attempt at recovery
After spending most of his days either drunk or hungover, the actor then went on to realize that he needed to change his habits before it got out of hand. He started to stay out of the limelight and although he never fully cut off the alcohol, he went on and reduced it down to a healthier amount.
He then started sharing his struggles to the public and was happily saying that he had a newfound sobriety and seemed to be having a great time with his life, overall.
The Relapse
Making the public believe that he had fully recovered, the actor secretly continued to drink his life out at the convenience of his home in his early-20’s due to the fear that if he goes out to drink in public, people will catch him and take pictures of him doing all sorts of crazy things while drinking and then post it in the tabloids for the whole world to see.
Which wasn’t an unfounded fear since back in 2012, that exact thing happened. People took photos of him getting kicked out of the local bar in New York City after the drunk Radcliffe apparently started a feud with the bar’s DJ. After the fight broke up, the actor got kicked out of the bar.
Radcliffe said that relapse was because of the panic that he went through along with the fear of being forgotten after the Harry Potter saga was over.
Second – AND FINAL – attempt to recovery
After the mentioned controversy blew up, the Hollywood star hit rock bottom as his alcohol problems started affecting his work and his life in general.
Well aware of the fact that his life was in a downward spiral, Radcliffe, for the second time around, found himself desperately craving for a change. This time, he was very committed to doing it.
The Boy Who Lived: The Journey to Recovery
After years of struggle, Radcliffe is now completely sober and has been for several years.
How did he do it?
He stated that he had to “create a habit” and “be disciplined” which are both easier said than done. According to him, every time he feels the urge of “wanting to intake alcohol”, he will always go out and take 5 long hours of walk. He also started spending time at the gym and took exercise and diet VERY SERIOUSLY. Not only that, but he also stated that he “fell in love with reading” and “gaining new knowledge” as they were “therapeutic” for his long standing fight with alcohol.
Finding the Real Life Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley to His Harry Potter
While sharing about how he managed to overcome such a problem, the actor never failed to show gratitude to the people he surrounded himself with. When asked about how he managed to be successful at being – and remaining – sober, he answered by saying, “it took a few years and it took a couple of attempts.”
“But I think I have been just unbelievably lucky with the people I’ve had around me at certain times of my life and I met some really key-people;” he added. “Some of them are actors, some of them are people who just gave me great advice and really cared for me.”
But more than that, Radcliffe said that “everything was about making your own decisions” which just goes to show that to be able to recover from such a big setback, one should always be TRULY committed to turn over a new leaf and, most importantly, to surround oneself with genuine people with the right mindset and the heart to help.
Being an inspiration once more
Up to this day, Radcliffe still continues to be successful being sober. The recovered actor uses his platform and continues to be vocal about his past struggles to inspire people to fight against the struggles of their own.
Got your own recovery story? We hear you – let us know in the comments about how you dealt with alcoholism, the Harry Potter way.
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